


Denial Counts For Everything

by zarabithia



Category: White Collar
Genre: Community: comment_fic, Female Protagonist, Multi, Threesome, Threesome - F/M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-03-18
Updated: 2010-03-18
Packaged: 2017-10-11 14:23:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/113352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zarabithia/pseuds/zarabithia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes, if you want the job done right, you have to do it yourself. Written for the prompt: "five times Neal and Peter chickened out, and the one time Elizabeth took charge."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Denial Counts For Everything

  
After so many years of being married, Elizabeth prided herself on being able to predict every facial quirk her husband was possible of making. It was a private game of hers, trying to imagine exactly the expressions her husband would make a split second before they crossed his face. It wasn't as fun as the game of "what ridiculous story can I blurt out to prove that my husband is too lost in thought to actually be listening to me," but it definitely still qualified as one of the benefits of being married that no one had told her about when she was still single.

But sometimes, Peter could still surprise her. The first time she suggested that they invite Neal into her bed, Peter gave her an expression she'd never before seen. Elizabeth didn't particularly care for it - it made his nose wrinkle too far up his face and his eyes widen just a little too much. It made him look like a cross between a lobster and a frog, and it was never a good sign when her husband was making faces that reminded Elizabeth of last week's menu request from a particularly difficult client.

Elizabeth filed that particularly look away, mentally labeling it the "someone stating my desire aloud isn't as sexy as it sounds in my fantasies" look.

It was quickly replaced by the "denial" look, one which Elizabeth knew her husband only adopted when he was completely guilty. "Even if I wanted to do that," Peter told her, which, of course, was a dead give away that he _did_. "It wouldn't work. No way."

Elizabeth let it go and went back to planning the following week's Thursday event. Obviously, her husband needed a little time to get comfortable with the idea.

** II. **

The first time Elizabeth brought up the idea to Neal, she was honestly expecting a better reaction than the one she got from Peter. Neal had a much more "live and let live" policy in life and from where Elizabeth sat, it was fairly obvious that Neal was attracted to her husband.

A person didn't send cards from prison to the man that arrested him unless he was attracted to that man, now did he? If anything, Elizabeth figured that with Neal, the harder selling point might be including her.

Which is why she was completely taken aback when Neal set his wine glass down on the table and took her hand - in a gesture sensual enough that it removed any concern Elizabeth might have had about Neal not wanting her as well as Peter - and told her, "That's a very sweet offer, Elizabeth, but I'm afraid I'll have to decline. I don't have sex with men."

Well, she couldn't exactly argue that point. When a man thought they were straight, no amount of dangling naked Peter Burke in front of them would change the man's mind.

**III.**  
  
She dropped the idea after Neal's denial, despite the fact that she could quite obviously see little lingering looks from her husband (and what she was pretty sure were lingering looks from Neal's side of the table, too.)

It was only after Mozzie came to look over their house for bugs and the two of them had a chance to talk that Elizabeth was able to confront Neal again.

"Mozzie tells me you _do_ have sex with men," Elizabeth informed Neal, once she had him cornered away from Peter.

Neal rarely allowed himself to demonstrate surprise - Elizabeth supposed it was a hold over from being a successful con artist - and this time wasn't an exception to that rule. Instead of surprise, he feigned confusion as he asked, "How did _that_ come up as a topic of conversation?"

Elizabeth shrugged. "He was taking, shall we say, a particularly keen interest in Jones and past exploits may have been revealed. Over tea."

"Jones? Really? A _Suit_?"

"Apparently there's something about us _Suit_ types that attract people who claim to have a natural repulsion towards us."

"Oh, El, no one could have a natural repulsion towards you," Neal claimed, and Elizabeth saw the claim for the weaseling his way out of the conversation that it was.

She allowed it this time, because denial counted for everything, and Neal very tellingly hadn't denied Mozzie's claim.

** IV. **

The second time she confronted Peter, she wasn't betting on the "someone stating my desire aloud isn't as sexy as it sounds in my fantasies" look, because Neal had been in their lives long enough that Peter had to be more accustomed to hearing the idea bounce around in his own head.

Instead, Elizabeth figured he'd give her the "I want to taste that, but fear it will be bad for me" look. He gave her that look a lot, whenever she demanded he serve as a taste tester.

There was nothing that tasted quite so sweet as being _right_. She let him make that face for a few minutes before she rolled her eyes. "What's the excuse this time?"

"He's still hung up on Kate," Peter answered, a fraction too hesitantly to adequately pull off the certainty he was probably aiming for. "And that's not an excuse, that's a fact."

Elizabeth had every intention of arguing that point, because while true, it also ignored the fact that Kate wasn't there and the two of them _were_. "It isn't Kate that he's giving those longing looks to over breakfast," she stated, but that beginning to what would have clearly been an excellent round of debate was abruptly interrupted by the sound of Peter's cellphone.

"Sorry, gotta run, El," he told her after taking the call. "Need me at the office."

Peter looked entirely too happy to escape her interrogation. Elizabeth let him go - he had a job to do, after all - but really, he should have known this wouldn't be the last time they'd have this conversation.

**V.  
**  
The next time she had Neal cornered, she didn't even have to bring it up. Instead, she was patient, letting him help himself to the previous night's left overs while they waited for Peter to get home.

Her silence eventually drove him to speak, "Aren't you going to say anything about your ongoing plan to get me into bed with you and Peter?" he asked. Elizabeth had to give him credit, because he did a fair imitation of nonchalant.

"When you put it that way, you make it sound so diabolical," Elizabeth answered. "Should I invest in a pair of horns? Maybe a little red devil's outfit?"

"Sounds kinky."

"Oh, Neal, sweetie, we can do a _much_ better job at being kinky than that."

She could only tell that he was startled by the way the sandwich paused halfway to his mouth. "Really?"

"_Really_."

"I would have pegged Peter as much more vanilla. Of course, I also would have pegged him as much more _straight_."

"Your kink and bi radars seem to be broken," Elizabeth said with mock sympathy. "Now, back to the issue at hand..."

"El, he has to make the first move," Neal argued. "The con cannot proposition the agent. There are rules about these sort of things."

"Neal, you are usually quite a brilliant man, but that is the stupidest thing I have ever heard anyone say."

"Ah, but you still want me in your bed, don't you?" Neal retorted.

She did, of course. Which was why she relayed the conversation to Peter, who in turn promised to bring it up with Neal.

But with each additional night that passed with Peter claiming that "it didn't come up," she suspected that her husband had once again chickened out.

**And the one time Elizabeth took charge  
**  
A week after the plane explosion, the three of them sat in the Burke living room, their coffee cups completely ignored. Elizabeth wasn't sure exactly what to say - what _could_ you say to someone who had seen the love of their life die in front of his eyes?

From Peter's silence, it was clear to Elizabeth that he was having the same difficulty finding words.

"I should go," Neal announced, finally cutting through the silence.

Elizabeth thought that was a terrible idea. "No," she said firmly. "You shouldn't go. You should stay here with us, and spend the night between us." She could see them both start to protest, but she interrupted them with a firm, "No sex, if you don't want. But you should stay here and not be alone."

Neal didn't answer her right away. Instead, he turned to look at Peter.

_Don't mess up_ she internally willed her husband. Remembering that her attempts at telepathic orders had never gone very well, she said firmly, but quietly, "Don't you agree, Peter?"

Peter stood up, walked to her side, and extended his hand out to Neal. "Bed's plenty big enough, Neal."

Neal took Peter's hand and stood up, slipping his other hand into Elizabeth's palm. Together, the three of them climbed the stairs to their bedroom.

Too many terrible events had happened lately for it to qualify as a happy ending. But Elizabeth was hopeful that it could be the start of one.


End file.
